The Russian government is stepping up efforts to gain control over popular messengers and foreign software.

This is reported by the Ukrainian Foreign Intelligence Service.

President Putin has tasked the government to develop measures by September 1, 2025, to limit the use of foreign software, including messengers, developed in «unfriendly countries».

WhatsApp, owned by Meta (an organization deemed extremist in Russia), is under particular scrutiny, making it a primary candidate for potential blocking. The situation with Telegram is also ambiguous: while the messenger has Russian origins, its purported «independent» stance and refusal to cooperate with authorities leave its status uncertain.

The authorities have already introduced a new element of a centralized digital monitoring system — the Max messenger by VK. All officials have been ordered to switch to Max. The application has full access to the microphone, camera, contacts, geolocation, and files. It cannot be turned off through standard means, uses root access and system jar files, which are indicators of malicious software. Data is automatically transmitted to servers associated with VK, which is controlled by Russian security services.